Where African businesses were once questioning whether or not to use the cloud, they’re now asking how they can benefit most from it.
This is according to Cloud Africa 2018, a new research project conducted by World Wide Worx for F5 Networks.
Decision-makers at 300 medium and large organisations across the continent were interviewed about cloud computing usage, benefits, and intentions.
“While a South African business might view the cloud as a means of beating the competition to market, for a Kenyan or Nigerian business, it could be a way of increasing business efficiency and scalability,” said Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, who presented the report.
Over the past five years, use of the cloud among medium and large organisations has more than doubled, from less than 50% using it in 2013 to pervasive use in 2018.
“There’s a shift that’s been happening around the world, and there is a lot of money and budget being invested into public cloud,” said Simon McCullough, F5 Channel Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa.
“We are seeing a strong focus on the benefits to be gained from the cloud.”
Respondents in Nigeria and Kenya named business efficiency and scalability by far the most important benefit of cloud computing, with 80% and 75% respectively selecting it as an advantage, compared to 61% of South African respondents.
For South Africans, time-to-market or speed of deployment came in as the most prominent benefit, as cited by 68% of respondents. In contrast, only 48% of companies in Kenya and 28% in Nigeria named this as a key benefit.
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“This speaks to the infrastructure challenges in developing information technology markets like Nigeria and Kenya,” said Goldstuck.
“South Africa has a more mature IT landscape, so the focus is on the competition rather than the business itself.”
Key findings of the report
- 82% of respondents in Nigeria, 69% in Kenya, and 66% in South Africa have seen an impact from cloud computing on market share.
- Innovation within the organisation saw an equally high impact in all markets, with 100% positive impact in Nigeria, 98% in Kenya, and 88% in South Africa.
- The cloud has had a similar impact on brand perception, at 100% in Nigeria, 98% in Kenya, and 85% in South Africa.
- The cloud has also had a high impact on customer experience, at 96% in Nigeria, 85% in Kenya, and 81% in South Africa.
- 90% of companies in South Africa, 94% in Nigeria, and 98% in Kenya said they would increase spending on cloud computing this year.
